Soccer is one of the most lucrative sports on the planet.
The biggest stars at the biggest clubs earn staggering salaries—often topped up by massive sponsorships and brand deals—with the very best pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, every single week.
Take Cristiano Ronaldo, for example. The Portuguese superstar reportedly earns an eye-watering $4 million per week playing for Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, and recently became the first-ever soccer player to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.
Yet, despite his enormous wealth—and that of other global icons like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé—none of them hold the title of the world’s richest soccer player.
Surprisingly, that honor belongs to someone you’ve probably never even heard of.
The Richest Soccer Player in the World: Faiq Bolkiah
The richest soccer player in the world isn’t Ronaldo, Messi, or Mbappé—it’s actually Faiq Bolkiah, a former Chelsea academy starlet who now plays professionally in Thailand.
Bolkiah’s estimated net worth is a staggering $20 billion, thanks not to his football earnings, but to his royal lineage. He’s the son of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, and his uncle, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the Sultan of Brunei—one of the wealthiest monarchs in the world.
Born in Los Angeles, Bolkiah spent time with Southampton, Chelsea, and Leicester City as a youngster before moving abroad to pursue his professional career. He’s since played in Thailand’s top flight for both Chonburi and Ratchaburi.
Despite his immense wealth—and even meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2017—Bolkiah has always insisted he’s just a regular footballer focused on the sport he loves.
"Whatever people write and everything, I would say I'm just a very simple person, the same schedule every day," Bolkiah told Mainstand Thailand, per the Mail Online, in 2021. "I like to focus on football. I don't like to focus on anything outside."
Like many players of his generation, Bolkiah idolized Ronaldo Nazário, the legendary Brazilian striker who won the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002.
"I love how direct he is with the ball, every time he gets the ball he's direct," he told Progresif Radio in 2018. "He's strong, he's got the same kind of physique as me, he's got quite big legs, he's strong, powerful, fast. So I try [to base] my game [on] him."
Other Richest Soccer Players Past & Present
Outside of Faiq Bolkiah, there are plenty of other soccer players—past and present—who have made a fortune both on and off the pitch.
When it comes to current players, Ronaldo sits comfortably in second place behind Bolkiah, with the Portuguese having a reported net worth of around $1.4 billion. Close behind are Messi and Neymar, both boasting net worths in the hundreds of millions.
Adding retired stars into the mix makes things even more interesting. Two names stand out above the rest—Mathieu Flamini and Louis Saha—both of whom have built billion-dollar fortunes away from football.
Former Arsenal and AC Milan midfielder Mathieu Flamini is estimated to be worth around $13.3 billion, having co-founded GF Biochemicals, a company that produces sustainable alternatives to oil-based products. His business success has made him one of the richest athletes in the world.
Meanwhile, ex-Manchester United and Fulham striker Louis Saha is reportedly worth around $5.7 billion, largely thanks to his venture AxisStars, a sports and business networking platform that connects athletes, agents, and brands.
Below is a look at some of the richest soccer players past and present, ranked by their reported net worths.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Who Is the Richest Soccer Player in the World?.